Process of making fertilizing material.



- oNITEnsTATEs a: IQ.

Ar ana PROCESS OF MAKING FERTILIZING MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1909.

' Application filed. March 19, 1908. Serial No. 422,130.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN'W. LOWMAN, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Fertilizing Material, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the production of available phosphoric acid from phosphate rocks, phosphate bones, phosphate of lime or,

other substances, and the invention consists in a new and useful process for accomplishing I this result without the use of sulfuric acid.

In the practice of my invention, I take phosphate rock, one thousand pounds; common salt, two hundred and fifty pounds dolomite or magnesium lime stone, two hundred pounds; and fluorspar, fifty pounds. The phosphate rock is first finely ulverized, and the dolomite or magnesium lime stone first well burned and then well pulverized, and the fluorspar is also well burned and pulverized. All the ingredients are then thoroughly mixed with water and thoroughly stirred and mingled until the entire mass is reduced to a plastic condition of the consistency of thick mud or dough. This mass is then subjected to a high temperature by any well known means. In practice I prefer to :erpplly a degree of heat, from six hundred to t hundred Fahrenheit, in which conditlon the material is allowed to remain for a period of from eight to twelve hours, when the phosphoric acid contained therein will be released or converted into available phosphoric acid. J

In the application of heat as above described if the phosphate rock or other material to be treated isexceedingly dry, a sufficient amount of water is added to slightly dampen the mass, but when the phosphate rock or other material is damp or moist the addition of water will not be necessary.

As is well known, fluorsparusually con tains a considerable percentage of carbonate of calcium, and the heatmg process above described changes the calcium carbonate to quick lime, and the same is also true of dolomite.

It will be understood, of course, that in the above process any equivalent substance or material may be substituted for the phosphate rock, such as phosphate bones, phosphate of lime, phosphate nodules and'similar substances; and when the phosphate rock or similar material is highly silicious enough potash may be added to disenga e and discharge the' same in the form of si 'cious gas.

In the above operation the potash renders the silicon soluble, and the mass when heated generates a gas, the equation of which is unknown to me at the present time. It will also be apparent that the amounts of the various materials specified may be changed or modified within certain limits, all that is necessary in this connection being that the proportion of arts of each be at least substantially mamtained, and while I have specified dolomite or magnesium lime stone, and fluorspar as substances employed in the .process herein described and. claimed, it will be apparent that other substances having similar chemical constituents may be sub stituted therefor Without departing from the ing a phosphatic fertilizer, which consists'in phate material, burning and pulverizing a predetermined amount of dolomite or magnesium lime stone, burning and pulverizmg a predetermined amount of fiuor-spar, thorsplrlt of my Invention or sacrificmg 1ts ad 2. The herein described process of produC- pulverizing a predetermined amount of phosoughly mingling all of said. substances, addonce of the subscribing witnessesfihis 16th ing a predetermined amount of potash thereday of March 1908.

to, reducing the' roduct thus formed to a A N a plastic mass b st rring water thereinto, and 9 L 5 then heziting t e said mass. Witnesses: y

In testimony that I claimthe foregoing as i JAMES H. CONNOR, myinventien I have signed my name in pres RICHARD 'S. -WEITZE11L. 

